Henrijs Preiss - Contemporary Artists

No.240

Henrijs Preiss

No.240

2009
Acrylic and varnish on board

84 x 121 cm

The weathered appearance of Preiss’s paintings makes them look like historical artefacts, but they also seem very contemporary. Preiss’s process is very laborious and physically involved and each painting takes about one month to complete. The pumice-like textures of his paintings are made by scratching and sanding the surface with etching and power tools. In No.240 this ‘decayed’ appearance is suggestive of an urban environment. Alongside art history, the city of London, with its prestigious architecture and big city grime, sparks Preiss’s creativity. The star is like a building plan or advertisement bearing the traces of everyday use and wear, like something that’s been left to the elements of a city street.